Kazem cocked his head. “Just curious. Why go near Ras al Khair rather than Jubail?”
“Because there’s a naval air station at Jubail,” Farhad replied, smiling.
Kazem winced. “Good answer,” he said.
Farhad clapped Kazem on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. The owners of this boat have paid a certain Saudi naval captain a substantial sum to make sure its unofficial landings aren’t disturbed. Normally the landings are to offload cargo such as alcoholic beverages and other high-value contraband. In fact, it’s such a regular visitor that I think its failure to appear is what would be more likely to attract attention.”
Kazem knew Farhad was exaggerating in an attempt to reassure him, but he still appreciated the effort.
“Well,” Kazem said with a smile, “at least I’m going to achieve one goal I had just about given up on.”
Farhad looked puzzled. “What’s that?”
Nodding towards the boat’s hold Kazem said, “Well, I’m going to see whether these devices I spent so many years designing and building actually work.”
The fishing boat slowly scraped its bow onto the beach, and its engine came to a stop. Lights switched on a truck nearby, and for an instant Kazem Shirvani thought they had been discovered by the Saudi authorities. But no commands over a loudspeaker followed, and Kazem quickly realized that loading the weapon on a truck would definitely require light.
Farhad Mokri grinned at his discomfort, but said nothing.
The truck slowly backed up until it was next to the boat. Several men emerged who immediately deployed its liftgate, which they brought nearly adjacent to the boat, and then used to walk onto it. One burly bearded man grabbed Farhad and kissed him on both cheeks, saying “Good to see you, my brother.”
“And you,” Farhad replied, turning to Kazem. “Meet Masud, the leader of the men who will be assisting you with your mission.”
Kazem nodded politely, and extended his hand. Masud ignored it with a laugh, and gave him the same treatment he’d just bestowed on Farhad. “A professor!” he said laughing. “I’m sure you can teach us some lessons.”
Farhad grinned back at him. “Well, he’s the one who designed and built these, so maybe he can.”
Masud‘s men had been busy helping the boat’s crew use a rope and pulley attached to the side of the hold to retrieve the pallet holding the first weapon, and at that moment it came into view.
Masud looked at the weapon and said thoughtfully, “Yes, maybe so.”
Within minutes the first pallet had been retrieved and placed in the truck, which then drove a short distance up the beach and shut off its engine and lights. Another truck then started up, and repeated the procedure with the second pallet. Less than half an hour after the boat’s arrival, the trucks were ready to go.
Farhad turned to Kazem and said, “Well, uncle, this is where I have to say goodbye. We have been doing reconnaissance at both plants for the last several days, and have seen no increase in security. As long as that’s still true today, you should have time to make it back to this boat. They will pretend to be fixing the boat’s engine until they see the signal, and know you'll soon be returning.”
Kazem frowned. “What signal?”
Farhad just grinned.
Kazem shook his head and sighed. “Still a joker, just like you were as a child. The big, mushroom cloud shaped signal, right?”
Farhad nodded, but then stopped smiling. “Seriously, it is up to you whether to proceed or not depending on what you find when you get to the plant. Masud knows that you are going to decide whether or not to attach the final component, and that call is entirely yours.”
Masud shrugged, saying, “No point in making a big hole in the desert. If we can’t get close enough in time, then we don’t do it.”
Kazem nodded, and embraced Farhad. “Good luck, nephew.”
Farhad fiercely hugged him back, and said thickly, “To us all.”
Moments later, both trucks were on their way to the targets.
Masud put down his cell phone and frowned. Kazem Shirvani looked out the truck’s window and could guess the reason. Other trucks’ taillights were ahead in a line that extended as far ahead as he could see in the weak dawn light.
“I have confirmation that the truck with the other weapon has joined the men and vehicles that will accompany it to the target, and that they are now about as close to the plant at Jubail as we are to this one,” Masud said.
Kazem nodded. It was important that all three devices detonate as close to simultaneously as possible. Of course, once one exploded, security across the country would be on maximum alert.
“The truck bomb is some distance ahead of us,” Masud said.
Good, thought Kazem to himself silently.
Masud continued, “Men to storm the plant once the gate has been destroyed are several vehicles behind the truck, but still well ahead of us. One problem is that it will now be harder to tell you when to attach the last component to the weapon.”
Now Masud paused. “The other problem is that if they’re carefully searching every truck, they’ve probably added guards. It may take us some time to get next to the plant.”
Kazem nodded his understanding, but said nothing.
Masud frowned and asked, “I know that you’ve said the weapon needs to be adjacent to the plant, but does it really need to be that close?”
Kazem shrugged, and replied, “If it works exactly as I designed it, no. But it may be only a partial detonation. If so, unless we’re close to the plant it will be damaged, but may be possible to repair. There will also be residual radioactive material from a partial explosion, but that can be cleared with the right equipment and technicians. I’m sure the Saudis can afford to import those.”
Masud grunted, “Yes, they can afford everything but justice for the Shi’a.”
Seeing the look that Kazem gave him, Masud said quietly, “My wife and daughter were killed by the Saudis at Al-Awamiyah.”
Kazem said sincerely, “I am sorry to hear that.”
Masud shook his head and replied, “You of all people shouldn’t say that.
You’ve given us our only chance to strike back against the Saudi royal family that oppresses us. When the entire city of Riyadh turns on the taps later today and nothing comes out, then they will feel a little of the fear we live with every day.”
Kazem nodded. “So, we carry on. I will go to the back and attach the final component.”
Masud looked him in the eyes. “You are certain? With the security I’m sure is ahead, I see no way to place the weapon and escape in time.”
Kazem smiled sadly and replied, “I never really thought escaping was a possibility. What I want to see now is for my life’s work to have some meaning. What you’ve just told me has helped me to make up my mind that this is the time, and the place.”
With that he unbuckled his seat belt and wedged his body between the two seats, before lifting the heavy cloth flap that separated the cab from the truck’s cargo bed. Not a brilliant design, he thought, but it will do. Climbing over the metal divider while lifting the cloth flap wasn’t easy, and as he made it over he dropped the flap on his head, which made him immediately aware it was covered with mold.
Rubbing his sleeve vigorously across his face, his eyes watering, Kazem had to resist an impulse to laugh. It had just occurred to him that the respiratory illness he would have normally feared would not have time to be a problem.
Kazem carefully inserted the final component into the weapon, and was rewarded with a “beep” and the illumination of its countdown clock. The countdown time was based on Kazem’s own calculations. He smiled grimly as he thought he’d never imagined being able to see in person if those calculations had been correct, instead of standing in some distant observation bunker.